Okay, here’s the delayed update. Like I said before, seriously well done everyone. Both in the quality of your thinking and the manner you deliver it in these documents.
Two criteria have been applied to these entries. Firstly, the thinking itself. Does it answer the original brief? Is it claimable? Is it interesting?
Secondly, does it set a juicy creative task? Can a creative see lots of ideas from it? Does it make Stuart want to pick up his layout pad? I wasn’t asking for propositions mind you, but if you’re not a great proposition writer like me, framing a task really helps, and many people prefer task based propositions anyway.
So……..
1. First up is Tom’s entry. Download microsoft_powerpoint_dfs_tomdavis_readonly.pdf. It’s concise and simple. The brief was to set a creative task that would help DFS defend against the generalist retailers and you’ve highlighted the problem as people needing something more important than convenience and value. And I think you hit the bullseye with reminding people about sensation. It’s a great area of attack – generalists cannot compete with the opportunity to browse, touch, feel and smell. Much of retail is about the experience you’ll get, and you’ve focused on one that’s not copyable. It also neatly takes DFS out of the quagmire of furniture retail ads that focus purely on looks and price. That fact that the average person spends 12 years of their life on one neatly rams the importance of comfort and fell home.
But then I’m not sure about the sex angle. For a mass market brand, maybe it’s too polarising, but in any case, I wonder if asking the creatives to dramatise the ‘sensation’ would be enough. Sensation feels true and claimable, I have a concern that sex could be a bit gimmicky. I’m not saying that making the product exciting isn’t a good thing to do, but maybe sex is too limiting a playpen.
As for a creative being able to work from it, Stu thinks sensation is ‘rich’ enough to get his teeth into. But finds it hard to start writing about sex AND sofas. The idea of a ‘what turns you on’ survey actually seems more creatively interesting……largely to do with the idea of personalisation. What feels right to you will be intensely personal, and that feels more fertile territory.
So full marks for the logic and the clear delivery, but maybe sex is one step too far.
2. Download microsoft_powerpoint_ethompson_apsotw_dfs_87072_readonly.pdf Eden, well played on a great document. It flows well, builds up to the points you want to make, but, and bear in mind I have a bias for more visual communication, there are a lot of words to take in. I wonder if more pictures would say the same thing more powerfully?
Anyway, great use of the footprint model to highlight what the competition stands for, and what they leave out….not creating a bond. You very clearly set out the challenges we have to overcome. But then I want to see a bit more about HOW DFS creates the bond that the others do not. I really like you’re brand positioning for DFS, it’s great for defining a tone of voice, a way of delivering the message, but it doesn’t help a creative to understand what the creative TASK is, except when you do the task, make sure it’s this tone and manner. I find myself wanting to find out HOW DFS develops a relationship with you.
I can’t fault the logic that people want some insurance when they make a big purchase, but I’m not convinced that aftersales is the right point to leverage. Quite right, there is no bond with a Tesco sofa, but maybe the way to attack this is to dramatise how you have the space and choice to bond with your choice BEFORE purchase. Isn’t something you’ve fallen in love with worth waiting for? Maybe it’s as simple as looking at that relationship, bond angle you’ve focused on and differentiating DFS sofas as things to fall in love with.
Creatively, Stu thinks he can start scribbling right away, but soon stops as he wants to know a bit more about WHY the relationship continues (you could tell him to look at the DFS website, but it always helps if you’ve done the work for them). And he makes the point that is the end we’re trying to make people want to VISIT and BUY at one place more then another. He finds himself wanting to do more stuff about what’s it’s like when you’re choosing. A big plus is the positioning, it may be additional to the brief, but he can ‘feel’ how to deliver the ideas. Well played.
3. Download microsoft_powerpoint_dfspres1_readonly.pdf Dave Mortimer’s thinking is watertight. He quickly compares DFS and ‘the enemy’ in two slides, but then the summary is so good David, you may as well have just done that! Edit, precis, distill. I really like the way you’ve isolated a distinct observation about the market at this point. People buy less new furniture the longer they live in a house, but they spend MORE, the living real is social hub of the house and families are less likely to move once they’ve got children in school.
From this we have a killer task…..essentially, show families who can’t move house that the perfect sofa is like changing your home without changing a house. There’s a lot going on here, not least when you add the cultural bit that the UK housing market is a bit uncertain right now. It shows how spending a bit more is worth it, it acknowledges the pivotal role of the sofa in people’s lives, and it locks out the competition. Generalists can sell impersonal commodities, but DFS can sell you something far more personal and important. Splendid.
The only concern I would have is really focusing on how only DFS can find you that perfect sofa through it’s personal, customised approach, but that’s just nit-picking. Stu certainly thinks so. He didn’t have much to add beyond admiring the smart thinking and wanting to scribble. It’s one of those idea that has simplexity….really single minded, but with so much going on.
4. Download microsoft_powerpoint_dfs_july_assignement_readonly.pdf Dinko and Zeljko cut right to the chase, or nearly. The message on their first slide is a powerful start, but I have to read a bit too much to get there. But pedantry aside, they assert that the right sofa takes time and effort to find, butthis is what modern people cannot spare. This is good, it’s getting to the heart of what’s going on in people’s heads and hearts. This sets the scene for how generalists fit in…..it’s absolution from the difficult process of getting something right, much easier to get something generic and disposable – turn high involvement into low. The thinking is developing like a dream, in fact it’s so good I’m getting annoyed you’re clouding it with so much detail!
Their solution is lovely – show that the easy option isn’t easy, since you’ll just be doing in more frequently. There’s a lovely truth in this. I searched for the perfect pair of jeans for ages, buying cheap ones that fit on the day and soon lost their shape. I spent a lot on two pairs last year, and never looked back. AND take the pressure off by offering help at every stage. Again, it’s so nice you just have to say it simply, it’s great attack on the generalist competition. The only thing is, I struggle to decide which one to go with at this stage, and I’m worrying which one to choose. Stu’s saying that it’s stopping him start, since he’s not sure what to start with…….BUT he really wants to start with the first direction, exposing that the easy option isn’t that easy.
Then I get confused. They suggest a creative idea, in the hope that ‘they come up with a better one’. You call it laziness that pays off’. At this point we’re wanting you to just give us a task (and let us know which one!) We’re a bit confused since the previous slide brilliant;y persuaded us that laziness DOESN’T pay off! We get that you want people to know that DFS isn’t hard work, but at the same time, you want people to know that copping out at competitors just creates more hassle in the long run.
Then you lose us with a series of ideas that are very detailed. Some are great, like the personal photos one,and lovely you’re going beyond communications ideas into thoughts that can shape the business, but WE DON’T KNOW WHAT CREATIVE TASK WE’RE DOING!.
It’s a shame because that thought about the easy option ending up harder was truly great. We really wanted you to follow through. That’s the bit Stu wants to work on, and thinks it’s fertile territory. We’re looking for a task that asks is to show that when something’s worth doing it’s worth doing right.
So lovely thinking, just work harder on refining it and delivering as simply as you can.
5. Download microsoft_powerpoint_abudddfs_obj.pdf Anitra’s effort starts brilliantly. When it comes to presenting ideas, if you start well, and end well, the middle is pretty much unimportant. This starts brilliantly. It’s a truth we all recognise, and it’s a really nice angle on the fact that you sit on a sofa a lot. And the good stuff continues. It’s an emotional purchase, other people’s opinions on ‘my taste’ matter.
At this point, two slides, you think you know what to do, Stu mentioned that this was enough to get going, but Anitra isn’t done yet. ‘Make sofa customisation a mark of personal authenticity’. And then there’s this bit, which is a great proposition (nicely slipped in there)…..your life isn’t generic, your sofa shouldn’t be either. Seriously good. I find myself wanting to read a full creative brief to see what else Anitra gets up to, Stu just wants to get going.
6. Download microsoft_powerpoint_dfs_readonly.pdf Roop does a great job of keeping things short and sweet. There’s no need to go into the background in such detail though, couldn’t this be done by one sentence maybe? Take the time to write even less. You do a great job of showing the sofa in context. Selling an object usually means going up one level and looking at the environment it’s in. Like David, you show how a living room is a multi-functional hub of the modern home. This is good.
But then you make the leap that since DFS is number 1 in the category, they can discuss category defining things. namely transforming living rooms.
Now, maybe I’m being a bit too hard, it’s true that leaders should lead, but I question if anyone would swallow this since DFS have never assumed leadership before. Like I said in the brief, previous communication has all been about discount, I suggest they need to EARN leadership first.
I agree that generalists can’t claim this on any level, so it will set DFS apart, and the the entertainment zone’ task in interesting. Indeed, Stu can create ideas from this very quickly. However, he’s an objectionable sod and questions thinking at any opportunity. He thinks this is more ‘image up’ branding, will of course develop a relationship with DFS. But I agree with him, maybe we need to talk less about category generalities if we want to attack our enemies, and more about what DFS ACTUALLY DOES for you that they don’t. We don’t really know any more about DFS that would convince us to shop there, we just feel a bit warmer about them.
But, like I said, well delivered, good thinking, but is seems more appropriate for a brand focused campaign, rather than something with a specific tactic behind it.
7. Download microsoft_powerpoint_apsowdfs_readonly.pdf Finally Anbu has relied of pure words for his entry, and kept if nice and short too. He starts by reminding us that DFS probably has no identity in people’s heads, thanks to it’s history of discount, hard sell ads. And swiftly moves on to tell us that the opportunity is DFS’ customisation. He succinctly tells us that people need inspiration, direction and guidance, and in the end, need someone who will take the time to deliver these needs. So we have the neat objective that DFS is the only place where you can get customised sofas. This is all fine and I love the speed and simplicity, but at this point is feels a bit flat and a little like a re-write of the brief. But then, we have this lovely end…..’Yours, not ours’, which immediately locks out the commodity based proposition of the generalists with the emotional benefit of the customisation already discussed. You’re a great proposition writer Anbu, but being a pedant, is was the TASK we wanted.
That said, nice quick delivery, nice thinking, but it’s the end that makes it so. Well done.
SO! Conclusions. Thanks for taking the time to do this everyone. You’ve all worked hard, and it shows. In every case, there’s some great thinking that will lock out the competition like we asked, and a task in there that sparks of lots of creative ideas. Seriously good, there will be some comfortable senior planners out there a little less complacent.
As general feedback, I’d say that it’s really important to edit as much as you can. Nearly every entry was short simple and looked like it had been pruned. But every single one could have done with a little bit more.
It’s hard to pick a winner. We’re looking for something that will have maximum effective, spark really great, interesting creative work and is delivered well. The delivery thing is important, for creatives and clients, trust me.
When you factor all that in, while everybody has done an excellent job, it’s between Anitra and David Mortimer. Both deliver well, both have a clear idea (others had either ideas that were just a little less interesting, or buried them under too much detail) and both have made some sort of leap. With Anitra, we have very culturally relevant idea of being an individual, something a generic, off the shelf retailer cannot claim. It makes that customisation, hand made stuff emotionally and culturally relevant. David has a an idea that redefines the category. Really great thinking.
David just wins. And only because his idea is a bit more useful to people. Anitra’s task will provide a strong emotional defense and create a strong, new connection between the sofa market and being recognised, which is a fundamental human need-all based on a truth about DFS that no one else can claim. David takes the same truth but pushes it just that little bit further by providing a compromise between not being able to move and feeling like you have a new house. This sheds new light on the category that just isn’t there right now.
We’ve changed our minds about ten times, but in the end, while Anitra’s idea is more about DFS, and lets different people translate it according to their own circumstances, David’s idea is just more useful to people and a little less common. The personalization card is great one to play, but David’s idea is unexpected, and maybe a bit more engaging and in tune with real issues facing real people in their real lives. And to boot, when the sofa means that much you need to get it just right…..so where do you go?
So David, well played. You get a prize, which is Paul Arden’s Whatever you think, think the Opposite.
That’s it. Don’t agree with our analysis? Have your say in the comments. Come one, come all. And hard luck Anitra, you made it damned hard to choose.
NORTHERN PLANNER 